Dr. Dewey M. Metts, Jr.

Dr. Dewey M. Metts, Jr., age 83, of Natchez, MS., died Wednesday, January 5, 2005, in Natchez. Dr. Metts was born on April 1, 1921 in Flora, MS. He graduated from high school in Oxford, MS., in 1938 and attended Copiah-Lincoln Jr. College in Wesson, MS., from 1938-1940 where he played football. He then enrolled in Mississippi College, where he also played football. He attended the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and received his degree from there in 1950. After he received his DDS degree he engaged in private practice until 1954. In November of 1940, Dr. Metts went on active duty with the Mississippi National Guard as a Private. He was promoted to Platoon Sergeant within three months. He was transferred to Army Air Corp Flight Training in October, 1941. He won his Pilot's Wings and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in May of 1942. At the time of his commission he was the youngest flight officer in the United States Army Air Corp. His first assignment was a flight instructor. After nine months he was selected to be a staff pilot for the Army Air Corp Training Command. His duties involved flying high-ranking civilians and military officers to various Army and civilian training bases in the United States. By the time WWII had ended he had completed combat crew training as a B-29 pilot and flight leader. He was separated from the military in November of 1945. He returned to school in January of 1946. He then re-entered service as a U.S. Air Force Dental Officer. In 1957 the Air Force selected him for advanced training at New York University College of Dentistry. After completing one year of didactic study he was assigned to Confederate Memorial Hospital in Shreveport, LA., for two years of Oral Surgery Residency. After completing his Oral Surgery training he served as Chief Consultant for Oral Surgery Affairs, United States Armed Services, Southeast Asia, and later as Oral Surgery Consultant for the United States Air Force, Southeast United States. In addition, Dr. Metts has been Chief of Oral Surgery at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, and Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, MS. He was also the Training Officer, Oral Surgery Department, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Metts' military awards include the Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Viet Nam Honor Medal First Class, and Legion of Merit. During his time in the military service, Dr. Metts served as Dental Surgeon, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon RVN. He was Consultant to South Vietnamese Armed Services for Oral Surgery Affairs. He lectured at the Dental School, University of Manilla. He also presented a series of lectures to the Asian Stomatological Society, Tokyo, Japan. He retired on April 1, 1972. Dr. Metts has served on the Executive Committee of two hospitals on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and was president of the hospital staff at Howard Memorial Hospital in Biloxi, MS. for two years. He was a member of the American Dental Association, the American Society of Oral Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Dentist, and a member of the American Association of Oral Surgeons. He served as President of the Mississippi Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He retired at the end of 1995 in Ocean Springs and was a member of First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs. Dr. Metts was preceded in death by his wife, Addie Metts, a daughter, Sherrie Metts, a son Dewey M. Metts III, and his parents, Reverend Dewey M. Metts, Sr., and Jeannette Denson Metts. He is survived by his wife, Mary Metts of Natchez, a son, Charlie Metts and wife, Belinda, of Houston, TX., a sister, Ouida Merrill of Ridgeland, MS., and three grandchildren, Laney Metts, Spencer Metts, and Lillian Metts, all of Houston, TX. Visitation will be Saturday, January 8, 2005, from 1:30 P.M. until 2:30 P.M., followed by a 2:30 P.M. chapel service, all at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Crestlawn Memorial Park.